Peter AdamsParliamentary Secretary to Leader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, in accordance with section 3(32) of the Canada Elections Act, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, copies of a form prescribed by the Chief Electoral Officer, pursuant to subsection 46(1) of the act.

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-2, an act to establish the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and to amend the Canada Pension Plan and the Old Age Security Act and to make consequential amendments to other acts.

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-201, an act to amend the Parliament of Canada Act (oath or solemn affirmation).

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to introduce a bill to amend the Parliament of Canada Act concerning the solemn affirmation.

Presently members of Parliament swear allegiance exclusively to the Queen. I now present a private member's bill that would require the newly elected MPs when they are elected to swear allegiance to Canada and the Constitution as well as swearing allegiance to the Queen.

I would like to thank all those members who read my proposed amendment, as I did, at the swearing-in ceremony.

Bernard PatryParliamentary Secretary to Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-202, an act to amend the Canada Health Act (nutrition services).

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to introduce a bill to amend the Canada Health Act concerning nutrition services.

The purpose of this bill is to include the terms “nutrition services” in the definition of “insured health services” within the present Canada Health Act.

Nutrition is an essential component of an individual's health. We know that Canadian dieticians are the only health professionals with the proper training and skills to assess a person's nutritional health. Moreover, the Canadian government recognizes them as a key resource in drawing up health policies such as Canada's Food Guide, which provides guidelines for a healthy diet.

I therefore believe that it is important, both for the public and for the professional association of dieticians, that they be officially recognized and integrated into the Canada Health Act.

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-203, an act to amend the Agreement on Internal Trade Implementation Act.

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure for me to introduce my private member's bill, an act to amend the Agreement on Internal Trade Implementation Act.

The agreement on internal trade, which was signed nearly three years ago, was a start. However, it has not been completed. The main obstacle to completion has been the term consensus which was used by the negotiating committee comprising of cabinet, representatives from the federal, provincial and territorial governments.

This committee has interpreted consensus to mean unanimity. Therefore, any one government, regardless of the population it represents, can impede the progress of the agreement and of the Canadian economic union. This is what has happened many times.

My bill will allow the federal government to use its constitutional responsibility under sections 91 and 121 of the Canadian Constitution to complete sections of the agreement on internal trade.

It is important to note that this action will only be taken in situations where a co-operative agreement between the provinces has been sought and has not been reached. This proposed approval formula will require the agreement of at least two-thirds of the provinces that have at least 50 percent of the Canadian population. This provision will facilitate the removal of internal trade barriers and present growth opportunities to Canadian businesses which previously have been restricted by these interprovincial trade barriers.

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-204, an act to require that in the advertising and at the opening of a cultural project supported by public money a public acknowledgement of the grant be made.

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals speak quite frequently of protecting Canada's culture which is a very noble cause I am sure. They speak of it in terms of motherhood and apple pie.

The difficulty is that many times Canadians are appalled at the choices they make or the people who they assign to make the choices of the projects. Furthermore, there seems to be a lack of accountability of those dollars.

The purpose of this bill is to raise awareness of Canadians to the choices that the appointees of the Liberals are making. Second, it will give some acknowledgement to the long suffering taxpayer.

On the positive, it is my contention in this bill that when the decision-makers are aware that their choices are going to be made public they will be making more responsible choices.

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-205, an act to provide for parliamentary scrutiny and approval of user fees set by federal authority and to require public disclosure of the amount collected as user fees.

Mr. Speaker, this is a bill to provide for parliamentary scrutiny and approval of user fees set by federal authority and to require public disclosure of the amount collected as user fees.

In the 1993 auditor general's report the AG said: “We are concerned that Parliament cannot readily scrutinize the user fees established by contracts and other non-regulatory means. There does not exist a government wide summary of the fees being charged, the revenues raised and the authorities under which they are established”.

The design of this bill is to ensure that there is scrutiny and that we get a handle on the fact that revenues from user fees have doubled in the last 10 years under Liberal and Tory governments, something that should concern all Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise today in the House of Commons to present a petition signed by members of my constituency who are residents of several communities, Williams Lake, Horsefly, McLeese Lake, Tatla Lake and Lac La Hache.

My constituents call on Parliament to urge the governor general to appoint a duly elected person to the forthcoming vacant British Columbia seat in the Senate of Canada.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to table a petition from leasees of Indian Point subdivision on Adams Lake in my riding.

Most of these people are senior citizens who retired to homes on land they are leasing from the Adams Lake Indian Band. They are listing many grievances against the crown, including having to surrender their homes without compensation when their current lease ends in the year 2010.

The petitioners pray that the House of Commons will urge the federal government to compensate them. I strongly urge this government to grant their request.